Change/Article Basics/Prayer/Miracles/Unhappy Clutter

1.  Elaine Stock hosts Lisa Lickel on her blog. Lisa talks about how tough change is on us humans. It resonated with me as I was transplanted from one state to another 13 years ago. Her final conclusion made me smile.

2.  If you're into writing novels, have you considered working on some articles? I started out in the non-fiction arena, so this caught my eye. Check out Linda Gilden's tips, at The Write Conversation, on article writing basics.

3.  The United States recently went through one of the most contentious Presidential elections in its history. As a believer, I'm convinced prayer was a key factor. What about now? Can we sit back and relax? This article on Christian Headlines by the late Chuck Colson gives us much to ponder.

4.  I loved this story of a modern-day miracle and thought you might as well.

5.  Unhappy clutter/decor is the subject of a House Beautiful article. You might be surprised at the emotional impact it has on you.

Writers:  Have you considered writing articles in addition to your Great American Novel?
Please share.

Readers:  Do you read books purely for entertainment/escape from reality or have novels made an impact on your life? Please share.

Photo Credit:  Brian Lary

Email/Recipe/Chuckle/De-Clutter/Encouragement

1.  Email. Love it? Hate it? How do you keep it from eating all your time? Check out this post by Claire Diaz-Ortiz for a great strategy on handling email. One interesting point: Deal with email when your energy levels are at their lowest point.

2.  Recipe time! I discovered this Pumpkin-Raspberry Bundt cake recipe at Lisa Lickel's blog, The Barn Door. It's just in time to practice before the big Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. If you make it, let me know how it turns out. :)

3.  Chuckle for the day: Ane Mulligan shares her Melt Down at Stitches Through Time.

4.  After almost a month of Internet problems, I got back online and was promptly swamped. How do I ever catch up? I used some of that downtime to go through old papers in my office. It was still hard to chuck some of them into the trash even though I knew I'd never have time to deal with them.

Soon after, I found this article at Book Marketing Buzz Blog. Maybe it will help you as much as it helped me.

5.  At the Philly Conference, I met Allen Arnold. He taught a continuing session on The Heart of a Storyteller. Recently, I discovered this article by him at The Writer's Alley and decided to share it with you. It encouraged me. I will do what God gifted me to do.

Writers:  Do slips of paper with ideas fall from cabinets, spill over file folders, and litter your desk like confetti? How do you handle all the many projects you'll do someday? Do you re-file them or let them go at some point?

Readers: Since we're big into recipes lately, do you have a funny (even if it wasn't funny at the time) story about cooking or kitchen mishaps? Please share. (If you don't want to share here, maybe I've given you an idea for a future blog post of your own.)

Photo Credit:  Agne Kveselyte